Nighttime Passengers
by A Cubic Island
Summary: The events of the day before Deltarune. Kris is struggling with a recurring nightmare, and intense fatigue has set in. Desperate to break the pattern, they turn to someone they've needed many times before for help.


Kris only noticed the bags beneath their eyes for the first time that morning. The unkempt hair, the drooping, bloodshot eyes, the slouched posture and glazed expression—sure, those had been setting in over the last few weeks, but it wasn't _that_ big a deal. They could mask it all well enough.

But the bags were pretty hard to miss now. Those accursed wrinkles they could do nothing about.

Closing the bathroom's medicine cabinet in frustration, Kris' hand left smudges along the mirror's surface; for reasons they didn't understand, they let their hand slide down with a shrill rub of the fingertips. Their reflection became muddled, but they stared anyway.

"KRIS! WE'RE GOING TO BE LATE!"

The groan from Kris hardly registered to their own ears. "Coming," they said quietly. If the slam of the front door was any indication, Toriel didn't hear.

Kris heaved their backpack to their shoulders.

* * *

"Kris, are you all right?"

Kris allowed one eye to crack open. They were leaning against the inside of the car door, backpack serving as a makeshift pillow. The drive to school was barely over five minutes, but they'd come dangerously close to falling back asleep.

"I'm fine. Why?"

"You were drifting off. Tired?"

"Yes…" they mumbled. The elongated yawn that followed further gave Kris away. "But it's no big deal."

Toriel sighed. Unbuckling her seatbelt, she swung the car door open and stepped out to the brisk autumn air. Kris hastily pried the door open and nearly stumbled to the pavement.

"Child, should I take you back home? You don't look well."

"I'm fine, promise. Let's just go in."

Toriel gave a lone nod in acquiesce. She took Kris' hand in her own and approached the front doors of the school.

* * *

"Oh, t-there you are, Kris! We were just about to start. Find a seat, please."

Kris gave a weak wave to Ms. Alphys, but failed to muster a hello. Their tired eyes scanned the rows of desks; there were only two left, both in the front row. Ms. Alphys didn't have a seating chart, so arrangement sometimes shifted. Kris much preferred to sit in the back, but today they had no other option.

Kris plopped down in the nearest desk, in the right hand row. The seat to their left was unoccupied, but Monster Kid behind them was likely to be a chatterbox. Prepared for the eventuality, Kris rested their head on their arms, eyes sagging already.

"O-okay everyone, we're a few minutes past time so let's get going. If we could all turn to page 186…"

Kris could already feel themself floating away to the land of sleep, the tune of the environment their guide. Ms. Alphys' drawl. The turning of book pages. The scratch of chalk on chalkboard.

The loud slam of the classroom door, too. It wasn't enough to shake Kris out of it.

* * *

Kris knew what was coming next.

The cold comfort of nothingness surrounded them. As they had tried so many times before, they reached out to clench their fist; they felt nothing. They had no body. No form.

Just a small, red heart.

From Toriel's bedtime stories of long ago, Kris knew this little heart was a SOUL. The very manifestation of a physical being, and the red SOUL was the strongest of all. The one before them pulsed and throbbed with life and energy, a beautiful sight to behold…

And there was the problem. Kris could do nothing _but_ watch. They were rooted in place, unable to so much as shift their eyes. This was the dream plaguing their sleep every night. It was marvelous, but it was _boring._ It was unending. It was painful. All Kris wanted was for something, _anything_ different.

But Kris knew there was no escape. This was the same dream plaguing them for weeks now. Every time they closed their eyes to rest, there would _be_ no rest. Only this oblivion, over and over again. It was exhausting. They just wanted for something else. They wanted to wake up, wake up, wake up—

* * *

"Kris!"

Kris jolted upright. Involuntarily, they banged their knee against the bottom of their desk surface, and their book and pencil tumbled to the floor. Snorts and chuckles erupted from the class, and they felt themself get a bit red in the face.

"Kris, i-it's your turn to read the passage. Have you been following along…?"

Kris groggily rubbed their eyes, then leaned over to collect their possessions. "Sorry, Ms. Alphys… what page are we on?"

Alphys let a sorrowful, but pointedly cross, glance at them. "We'll talk after class."

From there, Ms. Alphys continued with her lesson. Around half an hour later, the bell rang; in short order, students proceeded to file out of the classroom. Only Ms. Alphys remained seated behind her desk, and with the room empty save for the two of them, Kris approached her desk with slow, forbearing footsteps. They knew Ms. Alphys wasn't keen on punishments, but they'd probably gone too far today.

"K-Kris…" Ms. Alphys sighed, gently removing her glasses and placing them on the desk. She allowed herself a moment to compose. "You've gotten into a habit of falling asleep during class. I know I've let it slide before, but I just can't ignore it any longer. Is there a reason for this?"

Kris shook their head. "No, Ms. Alphys."

With surprising confidence, Ms. Alphys said, "Are you getting enough sleep at night? It's hard, but nine hours a night is recommended."

"You sound just like my mom."

A small grin tugged at the corners of Ms. Alphys' lips, She knew her fellow teacher well. "Yes, I'm sure I've picked up on a few of her traits… but Kris, I admit I'm worried about you. Are you quite certain everything's all right? Are you having nightmares?"

Kris tensed. This did not go unnoticed.

"… W-whatever it is, Kris, I think you should see someone," she continued. "I-I can refer you to the nurse if you'd like, but if this continues, I'll have no choice."

Kris shook their head. "No thank you… can I go now? I'll try not to let it happen again."

Ms. Alphys closed her eyes, but gave a nod. "Y-yes, you are excused. Please try to get some more sleep tonight."

Kris mumbled a thank you. Slinging their bag onto their shoulders, they proceeded to the door and gently pulled it open. They were a few steps down the hallway, and then they felt their gaze shift to the left.

At the end of the hall was the closet door.

Kris blinked.

The air seemed to cool around them. What time was it? There was no clock nearby. Was it getting darker? The color was fading from the school, the bright posters and floor tiles a dull gray and black. They found it impossible to concentrate on anything, but it wasn't exhaustion this time.

The door. They just… they _had_ to see the door.

Footsteps plodding and echoed, they approached. With every step, a shiver ran down their spine. Their balance with their environment was out of sorts, but even now they could feel their heart pound in their ribcage. Sweat beaded.

After an eternity of moments, the handle was in reach. Kris let their arm extend. Their fingers clasped around cold metal…

"Kris!"

Instantly they snapped back to their senses. Color flooded the hall once more, and the breath they'd been holding burst free. A warm hand then was upon their shoulder, and their eyes darted to the source. It was their mother.

The distressed expression on Kris' face told the story for Toriel.

"Child…"

Toriel took Kris' hand once more. With the school day done and her passenger in tow, she walked to the doors.

* * *

The car had only just pulled out of the school parking lot when Toriel first spoke:

"Kris, I decided not to say it this morning, but I know you've been having a hard time sleeping."

Kris took sudden interest in the pattern of the shoe mat in the passenger seat. They did their best to deflect attention from themself, but deep down knew it was no use: when Toriel was onto something amiss, there was no getting away.

"Why do you say that?"

"I hear you mumbling in your room at night. Sometimes there are thumps, like you've fallen out of bed. A couple times I've caught you _sleepwalking._ Do you recall any of these?"

Kris gave a moment's genuine thought, but came up blank. "No. I've been sleepwalking?"

Toriel nodded. "And just yesterday, Ms. Alphys informed me you've been on a streak of sleeping in class _._ I'm concerned for you, child."

Kris crossed their arms at this. They were a bit annoyed at Ms. Alphys spilling the beans to their mother, but they knew she only meant well. And she wasn't wrong, either. "I know… I know I've been falling asleep in class. I'll get better."

"I understand, Kris, but it's still something we need to discuss. This _cannot_ go on."

Kris said nothing. The house was coming up just over the trees, the sun glaring through the windshield. Toriel lowered the sun visor above her head.

"… Do you remember when Asriel used to have nightmares?"

Kris' curiosity was piqued. Now they turned their gaze to Toriel, and recognizing the attention, she took it as license to continue:

"For a time, when you were both very young, he would often wake up and come bursting into m—our room, your father and I. Some nights he would cry, others he would shiver. But he was always upset by a _ghastly_ vision he described."

"What vision?" Kris said. "What were his dreams about?"

"It was of a dark pit at Mt. Ebott, half an hour from here. An enormous hole that he was scared of, but forced to visit every night. Sometimes, he said, he saw a patch of yellow flowers at the bottom, but other times it was pitch black. On those nights, I remember he would usually wake up more _startled._ It became a pattern I recognized.

He was afflicted by this dream every night, for a number of weeks. Until finally…"

"… Finally what?"

Toriel's countenance, already a frown, remained firmly untouched. "The last night, he said he jumped when the pit had the flowers. And he never had the dream again."

Kris pursed their lips a bit. They were quite young when this series of nightmares happened to Asriel, too young to remember it clearly. They didn't know if there was any sort of connection, but they knew they couldn't skirt around the topic at hand any longer.

"Mom, do you remember telling me stories about SOULs?" Kris said. Toriel nodded.

"Well," Kris continued, "my nightmare is that I… all I see is a SOUL. It's red. I don't know if it's mine or not, but I'm in a real dark place too, and all I can see is the SOUL. Maybe it's like the pit from Asriel's dreams?"

"Perhaps," Toriel said. "This is what's causing your exhaustion?"

"Yeah… I can't even move in the dream, it's driving me crazy that I keep going there. I don't know what to do."

Just as they finished speaking their piece, the car rolled into the driveway. After parking, Toriel leaned over to wrap Kris in her arms. The child didn't return the hug.

"I hope it all clears up soon, as it did for Asriel. I hope so, child…"

* * *

Not even a slice of cinnamon-butterscotch pie could quell Kris' nerves.

They sat upright in their bed, entirely quiet. The full moon was out that night, silver whisps of light poking through their window. The warm glow of the hallway filtered through their slightly ajar door, the gentle creak of Chairiel the only interruption to the silence. It was a marvelously peaceful night.

For once, Kris wasn't tired.

Unconsciously, they swiped their hand against the back of their neck. Their palm came back dry, miraculously, but they knew the sweat was merely one of many symptoms. The palpitating heart and throbbing head were happy to take its place.

Hastily Kris reached to their nightstand. In the dark, their hand brushed the lamp by mistake, but the real target was nearby: their phone. The bright screen temporarily forced a harsh reaction to their eyes, but they adjusted soon enough. They went straight to their text messages.

 ** _Kris: are you there?_**

A few moments of nothing. And then, a text bubble:

 ** _Asriel: yeah what's up?_**

Kris paused. They'd reached out to Asriel in a hurry, but didn't actually have a conversation planned. After giving themself a chance to think, they entered:

 ** _Kris: i can't sleep, can you call and sing me a lullaby_**

…

 ** _Asriel: no_**

Kris couldn't help but grin. It proved to be short-lived, fading the more they typed their next message:

 ** _Kris: no but seriously, i'm having a hard time sleeping because_ _i keep having a nightmare. i told mom about it but no one else_**

 ** _Asriel: what kind of nightmare?_**

 ** _Kris: i keep seeing this red soul, right?_ _but it's floating in place in a dark room and i can't move or anything._ _i have it every night, im not getting any sleep_**

 ** _Asriel: it kinda sounds like what i had as a kid. i assume mom told you about that_**

Kris let loose a little chuckle. Asriel was astoundingly perceptive.

 ** _Kris: yeah she did, they sound pretty alike but idk_**

 ** _Asriel: if it's like mine was, what does it feel like to be yourself in the dream? ik_ _you can't move but are you in someone else's body?_**

 ** _Kris: i don't have a body at all, there's nothing_**

Kris allowed themself to collect their thoughts as their brother typed.

 ** _Asriel: listen, i know its going to be hard but try to sleep tonight._ _at some point in my dream i was able to break the cycle,_ _maybe you'll be able to do the same_**

 ** _Kris: did you break it by jumping into the hole?_** ** _mom said you stopped having them after that_**

Another long gap between texts. Kris was growing nervous about the eventual response.

 ** _Asriel: actually no. when i landed my fall was cushioned by a bunch of flowers,_ _then when i got up a human child came up to me holding a red soul._ _when i reached out i woke up_**

Kris read the text over a few times to be sure. They _still_ needed to confirm.

 ** _Kris: a red soul? is it the same one im seeing?_**

 ** _Asriel: maybe, i wish i could see your dream too so i could tell you for sure_**

Kris put their face in their hands. But the phone in their lap buzzed once more:

 ** _Asriel: kris, i promise you it will get better. the recurring nightmare ended for me_** ** _and it will for you too_**

Though it provided no immediate answers or solutions, Kris' frazzled nerves calmed just a touch at Asriel's statement. Somehow, their brother was always able to make them feel a little better. A little.

 ** _Kris: thanks asriel, i hope its soon_**

 ** _Asriel: me too_**

As they read over the brief reply, Kris suddenly felt a yawn wash through their system. They knew the fatigue of earlier was returning with a vengeance.

 ** _Kris: im gonna try to sleep now, thank you for being here to talk to me_**

 ** _Asriel: of course, you know i always will_**

Kris couldn't resist a tired smile. They connected their phone to the nearby charger, clicked it asleep, and put their head to their pillow.

* * *

The SOUL was especially bright this time.

Kris stared. That's all they _could_ do, in this miserable void of despair and misery. The irony was not lost upon them. For such a pretty thing, this magnificent SOUL, to be stuck in such a place...

For minutes untold, Kris waited. Eventually they would wake up. They would wake up more tired than when they went to bed, yes, but at some point this hell would end. The cycle _ha_ d to end. Soon.

Though they knew they had no body to do it with, Kris attempted to blink. Anything to change up the scenery. Total darkness was preferable to this. Pretending to shut their eyes tight, they thought to themself a wish: _Change this to something else. Please._

And then, against every ounce of their expectation, their pleas were answered.

With a single shutter of their imaginary eyes, the scene before them changed. The SOUL was gone. The entirely of the room was pitch black, no light to be found anywhere. There was no discernible atmosphere. No point in breathing, they didn't need it. There was nothing now.

Kris couldn't dare to attempt to move again. But they quickly learned there was no need, after they heard a low popping sound pound their ears twice. And following was a _distinctly_ child-like voice:

"Are you there? Are we connected?"


End file.
